Ceballos comments on his return to the Villamarín and fans whistling at him

Dani Ceballos was interviewed by Movistar after Real’s late victory against Betis on Sunday and asked about the reception he received from the home fans.

“It’s a field that has given me everything. I’ve grown up here as a footballer and I did not expect this reception.”

“I’m happy, but I leave with the bittersweet feeling of not having the affection of who were my fans for so long.”

Obviously, it’s always hard to see your former fans jeering you when you spent part of your youth and senior career at the club. But, it’s not so surprising because some fans (of any club) view it as betraying the team.

It didn’t help matters that Ceballos came on late and was the one to score the late winner from the set piece, which allowed Real to capture three points instead of more dropped league points. He got some retribution for the jeers by getting the last laugh in the late minutes which secured a victory.

Solari addresses not including players like Isco in Sunday’s match

Santi Solari was interviewed during his post-match conference after Real’s win against Betis. He was of course asked about his decisions in leaving Marcelo and Isco on the bench instead of subbing them on.

“We played a serious game, we are who we are and we are all the team.”

“It is made up of those who play and those who do not play. In no way is there anything personal.”

After Benzema went off due to injury, Solari brought in Cristo. He also brought on Brahim and Ceballos, who scored the late winner. At least in the context of what ended up happening in the match, Solari made the right choice bringing on Ceballos instead of Isco if that’s truly who it was between.

Of course, another snub of Isco fuels the fire that Isco and Solari have a rift between them. Whether or not this rift actually exists or not, Isco has not been the go-to substitute when available on the bench under Solari. He also has not really been involved as a consistent starter with all the injuries that have affected the club as of late.

Many want to see a resolution to this whole situation, with this either ending in Isco getting more minutes, which has yet to happen, or Isco leaving Real Madrid, which has been rumored nearly every week now.

Valdano weighs in on Isco situation, wants to see resolution between club and player

One person who is looking for a resolution regarding Isco is former manager Jorge Valdano. He spoke with Onda Cero about the whole situation going on between Isco and Real Madrid.

“A year ago, the great hopes of Real Madrid were Isco and Asensio. One has been lost along the way and the other is under observation.”

“Everyone knows that something is wrong with Isco, but nobody knows what is happening. It should be solved in private. Cristo Gonzalez played ahead of Isco, this is a serious problem.”

“I suppose it is something that is talked about within the club. Isco must do some soul-searching.”

Valdano is about right about both Asensio and Isco. The club believed they were going to both be major fixtures within the squad this season and they’ve been anything but. Asensio has been injured and has underperformed when healthy, he is the one who is still “under observation” because of his age.

Isco is clearly the one being referenced as the “one who has been lost along the way”. He has barely played under Solari and there has been no clear explanation why. Is he still hurting from appendicitis surgery? Is there dispute between him and Solari? Does Solari just not trust him enough? Who really knows, other than what Solari is thinking himself.

Only time will tell what will happen with Isco, it’s really either him playing or being sold in the offseason. It truly serves no purpose to have a quality player, who is presumably healthy, sitting on the bench every match and never seeing significant action. It’s a waste of talent and really a waste of a spot.